Weed Dynamics, Root Characters and Nutrient Uptake of Aerobic Rice as Influenced by Intercropping Systems

A field experiment was conducted during kharif season in farmers field for two consecutive years to study the weed dynamics, root charactersand nutrients uptake in aerobic rice with intercropping systems. Results revealed that lowest dicot (2.99 and 3.56 m⁻²), monocot (2.68 and 3.42 m²) and total weed population(3.96 and 4.89 m⁻²) was recorded with rice + amaranthus at 15 and 30 DAS, respectively as compared to other intercropping systems. Rice + amaranthus was recorded lower monocot, dicot and total weed dry weight (0.95 to 1.48, 1.04 to 1.58 and 1.22 to 2.05 g m², respectively) over the rest of intercropping systems. Higher uptake of nutrients recorded in amaranthus intercrop with rice (158.68, 51.75 and 119.27 kg NPK ha¹), also higher root length (40.14 cm), root number (340.94), root weight (32.30 g) and root volume (93.90 cc plant⁻¹), which inturn helped in absorbing more nutrients from the deeper soil as compared to other intercropping systems in aerobic rice.